Mulla Sadra's Life,works,and Philosophy

Prof.S.M.Khamenei

In what follows, Fayd writes that since he could afford it, he went to the Hadj Pilgrimage to Mecca with his younger brother, and had the honour of meeting Shaykh Sani's grandson, Shaykh Muhammad, the son of Shaykh Hasan, the son of Zayn al - Din Ameli (d. 1030 A.H). In this meeting he obtained the permission for narrating hadith, and on the way back from the Hadj Pilgrimage, his eighteen year old brother, who, in spite of being young, was a great scientist and jurist, was martyred by Arab robbers and bandits.

He continues his biography by writing that: "After the Hadj Pilgrimage, I went from town to town, and wherever I found a scholar, I tried to use his knowledge".

This means that neither the difficulties of the journey, nor the remorse for the loss of brother, could decrease his extreme enthusiasm for learning, or bring him to his knees. He went from town to town in search for scholars to enrich to his treasure of knowledge. However, we know nothing about the cities he travelled to, or the type of knowledge he was seeking to accumulate. Nevertheless, it seems that he had travelled to so many different cities and benefited from the knowledge of scientists there. That he went to all scholars who were available at that time reveals that the targets of his search were philosophy, gnosis, and other types of knowledge, rather than the science of traditions {hadith} or interpretation.

Surpisingly enough, in his unending search, Fayd has not made the least reference to the famous teachers of jurisprudence, hadith, philosophy, theology, and even gnosis living in Isfahan,particularly, Mir Damad and Mir Findereski, who were among the most brilliant stars of the seminary of Isfahan, and were greatly famous all over Iran, and probably even in India, Iraq, and northern borders. It seems that he saw himself needless of their teaching and had sufficient knowledge in those fields of science.

If Shaykh Baha had been alive at that time, Fayd might have gone to him to

benefit from his ocean of knowledge and blessing; however, it is also probable that he had obtained what he wanted from the Shaykh; that is, the knowledge of science of tradition, and specifically the permission for narration. He did not need the knowledge of other sciences such as mathematics, medicine, and astronomy so much, and, like his future spiritual guide and model, he did not view them as "real sciences. His thirst was not satisfied by these small drops; he was in fact looking for a treasure to make him needless of other sciences and scientists in his eternal life.

Fayd was lucky enough to find this invaluable treasure. Two ways led to this treasure,one being gnosis and the other the Transcendent Philosophy; and there were two doors to it, one being the Qur'an and the other hadith. He found Mulla Sadra a spiritual leader possessing the keys to both doors, and carrying the lights of both ways in hands.

Accordingly, he uses some extremely humble and respectful words (which he has never used previously about anyone else) to write about Mulla Sadra: "...until I had the honor of being admitted to the presence of the master of the people of gnosis and the moon of the sky of certitude (Mulla Sadra), a man who was the unique leader of the time. I stayed in his presence and spent more than eight years in pious exertion and asceticism".

In the light of this unique teacher of the time, Fayd managed to satisfy his thirst completely by drinking from the two streams of philosophy: gnosis and the Transcendent Philosophy on the one hand, and Qura'n and hadith on the other.

His words reveal that, firstly, he did not know Mulla Sadra before that time, and was unaware of the depth and extension of his knowledge. This is inconsistent with the assumption stating that Mulla Sadra was Fayd's uncle (his aunt's husband), unless we consider the time of this marriage and familial relationship after their acquaintance, and supposedly, after the death of his first wife, and getting married for the second time.

Secondly, they indicate that Fayd's restlessness and enthusiasm for obtaining knowledge was for pure sciences and devine teachings, rather than the science of hadith, the so-called lessons of interpretation, and the books of philosophy and theology, which could be found everywhere. Although "knowledge" is always an honor to man and the cause of his perfection, the interpretation of the sentence "the honor of serving him..." in Fayd's writings is something else. He does not say these words for the sake of verbosity or offering complements. In fact, words do not suffice to express the depth of the love of this knowledgable man, who, years after the death of his beloved teacher, says that he was an old sufferer who possessed

such scientific and spiritual perfections that few can ever be compared to him. These words, like man himself, who is imprisioned within the bonds of matter, are not capable of revealing the sublime ideas of this gnostic.

However, in the dim and shaky light of the candle of words, one can find a vast space and observe the high peak of his thoughts. Evidently, Fayd was an obssessed and wandering lover who had found his last beloved right in front of him, and according to his own delicate expression, "had resided in his presence". Clearly, the lost beloved of this lover and seeker of the truth was something which could not be described by words, and tasted of the wine of the world of pre - existence. And it is also clear that Mulla Sadra's presence was the end point to his journeys and long search, as well as the high peak of his endeavours. It is at this point that we see Fayd at rest, like a star which is inseparable from its pole.

Thirdly, from these words one can perceive the depth of the knowledge of Fayd's teacher, Mulla Sadra, and his power of attraction. They show how he helped his enthusiastic desciples to achieve their desirable perfection, and obtain whatever an insightufl student might be seeking for. Mulla Sadra was a teacher, a spiritual leader and master who was well aware of the paths of scientific and practical mystic journey.

Therefore, he not only, like the leaders of the mystic path, took his students to their destination step by step, but also provided them with the highest levels of real knowledge by means of the incredible power of his theoretical philosophy and transcendent school of thought. In this way, he introduced himself as the spiritual leader of "unaccessible truth" to others.

However, after finding Mulla Sadra, the first part of Fayd's life, consisting of his exoteric studentship, the search for the teacher, and learning of bookish sciences was finished, and the second part of his life; that is, learning the lessons of love, seeking for the turth, and inwardly mystic journey started. If we consider the first period as his first spiritual journey of the four - fold journeys, the second period is his second journey which takes eight years or even more.

The time of Fayd's acquaintance with Mulla Sadra and meeting him must be sometime after 1030 A.H, and probably 1031 A.H. Since as mentined previously, his accepting Mulla Sadra's invitation for going to Shiraz was about 1038 A.H or a little after that. Since Fayd had been admitted to the presence of his teacher eight years before that, the exact date must be a little after 1030 A.H.

As we know, both Shaykh Bahai and Fayd's other teacher, Shahid Sani's grand son, who resided in Mecca, passed away in 1030 A.H. Therefore, the time of Fayd and his brother's descipleship in Mecca must have been before that date (probably in the early 1029 A.H).

And since he attended Shaykh Bahai's classes before it, we must consider the time of his being Shaykh Bahai's student as 1023 A.H. Therefore, he did not know Mulla Sadra before 1031 A.H.

Another point which is worth the emphasis here is Fayd's birth date. Some have written that Fayd's date of birth is 1007 A.H. This is not consistent with our information about his life. As mentioned before, considering the date of of Shaykh Baha's death (1030, A.H.), Sayyed Majed Bohrani (Fayd's other teahcr) (1030, A.H), and also according to Fayd's writings about the beginnig of his life, stating that he had gone to Isfahan at the age of twenty, the given date does not seem to be true. This is because:

1. As he writes, Fayd and his brother returned from the hadith classes of Shahid Sani's grandson and the Mecca pilgrimmage in 1024 A.H. Shaykh Muhammad Hasan ibn Hasan ibn Shahid Sani passed away in 1030 A.H. Thus their arriving in Mecca must have been at least one year before that (i.e. in 1023 A.H.), and since Fayd had been Shaykh Baha's student in Isfahan for one year, the beginning of his work there must have been in 1027. Moreover, as he syas, he studied under Sayyed Majed in Shiraz; therefore, the beginning of his studies there goes back to 1025 A.H, and his arriving in Isfahan was one or two years before that. This is because he was involved in studying other sciences in Isfahan. Considering all the above - mentioned dates, he must have arrived in Isfahan in 1023 or 1024 A.H, when he was twenty years old. And if we subtract 20 from these numbers, the year of his birth will be 1003 or 1004 A.H, and; as a result, the given year of 1007 A.H will be incorrect.

Abstract

The Soul-Body Relation in Philosophy and Gnosis

By: Mukhtar Tabaih Izadi

What are the features of the relation between the soul as ao immaterial reality and the body as a corporeal and material one?

Philosophers have followed different approaches to answer this question. Plato, in spite of his belief in the essential distinction between the soul and the body, does not deny their mutual relationship, and believes that there should exist a kind of proportionality and ballance between the two.

Aristotle, based on his principle of matter and form, considers the soul as the form of the body, and believes that they have the same quiddity. The distinction between the soul and the body, like any quiddity which is a composite of matter and soul, is a mentally - posited distinction, rather than an external and real one.

Unlike Aristotle, Ibn - Sina believes that the soul is an absolutely separate, immaterial and simple essence, which originates with the origination of the body and enters it. This relation is an accidental rather than an essential one. Besides, it is emphasized that the soul and the body have a mutual relation to each other.

Mulla Sadra presents an innovative view concerning the relation between the body and the soul. He considers the soul as being originated with the origination of the body, and believes that it reaches the stage of rational abstraction through its trans - substantial motion.

It can also be inferred from gnostics' words that the relation between the soul and the body is similar to the one between the world and God. They also believe that the soul is different from the body in terms of its essence and immateriality, but it belongs to the body in terms of administration and dominance. Also, Oneness, which is among divine realities, under the cover of a single soul and through appearance in body parts, reveals its necessary principles that were previously hidden in the context of possible determinations.

A Critique of Ibn-Sina and Mulla Sadra's Ideas of the Four-fold Accidental Motions

By:Ali Arshad Riyahi

In this Paper, the Writer has analyzed the ideas of these two great philosophers of motion in the four accidental categories of 'quantity, quality, place, and position, and derived the following conclusions:

- Mulla Sadra's definition of motion is more convincing than that of Ibn-Sina.

- The reason given by these two philosophers for preferring one of the possibilities concerning the meaning of motion in the category of existence is not error-free.

- None of the referents proposed for quantitative motion have the

necessary characteristics for being such in reality.

- The most certain referent for qualitative motion is motion in essential qualities.

- The reason adduced for proving rotational motion is not error - free.

- Although motion in place is certain, there is some doubt concerning whether place and position are categories in the real sense of the word.

An Inquiry Into the Meaning of Contingency

By:Aynullah Khadimi

This paper undertakes to explore the different ideas and critiques posed by Muslim philosophers with respect to the five meanings of contingency as presented below:

1. Contingency in the sense of the lack of necessity of existence and non-existence for quiddity;

2. Contingency (contingency proposition) in the sense of an affirmative negative predicative proposition;

3. Contingency in the sense of the sameness of quiddity with respect to existence and non-existence;

4. Contingency (contingent) as a matter which is dependent on the other for its existence and non-existence;

5. Qualification of quiddity for contingency in the form of affirmative negative

predicative proposition.

Mulla Sadra supports the first meaning from some perspectives and from some others, the second one. Dr Haeri Yazdi supports the second meaning, and other philosophers believe in the third one. Fakhr Razi defends the fourth meaning, while Allameh Tabatabai defends the fifth one.

Mulla Sadra's Separatism or A Separatist View of Mulla Sadra

By: Mohammad Ershad Nea

This paper is a critique of the article of "bodily ressurection in the Transcendent Philosophy" by Muhammad Reza Hakimi, and, in fact, a rejection of the separatist approach attributed to Mull a Sadra.

The separation of the two philosophical and revelatory approaches (the first is merely based on philosophical principles and the second is based on revelation, following the theologians' method, i.e, refering to appearances) basically originates from lack of deliberation on the works of this great philosopher. The "Transcendent Philosophy" is a school of philosophy based on revelation, rather than the transition from philosophy to revelation, as separatists emphasize.

By bodily resurrection Mulla Sadra does not mean the elemental resurrection in which theologians believe and which originates from materalistic dogmatism concrning the Hereafter and the belief in the materiality of souls.

Rather, according to the Divine Law, too, resurrection does not necessarily mean just elemental resurrection.

As a result, imposing such a meaning as what the Divine Law dictates to Mulla Sadra's bodily resurrection is naturally wrong. What religion necessitates is the principle of bodily resurrection, not the quality of the other worldly object, especially considering the fact that the world and the Hereafter are substantiaaly different from each other in terms of their existential modes and aspects.

In Mulla Sadea's view, the Hereafter is the world of creation, and the criteria for the individuation and identity of the worldly and otherworldly bodies and determining the objectivity of their component parts, is the soul. There fore, the other worldly body comes into being through the creation of the soul or the Giver of forms in the world of creation in a more pleasant and delicate way, and without those natural and worldly determinations.

An Overview of Observations in Logic

By : Naser Arab Mumini

Man's senses, particularly his five senses, act as a bridge connecting him to the world of nature. Man gets acquainted with this world and communicates with it through such senses. Each of these senses is like a window through which man can look at his surroundings and create concepts and images from what he sees in his mind. A question that has frequently been asked in the fields of philosophy and logic, especially in those new schools of philosophy which mainly follow an epistemological approach, is "How do these sensory forms and concepts come into existence in the mind and to what degree are they valid and objective?"

This question and its related answer have such a vast scope that we can claim a

great part of epistemological philosophy is devoted to dealing with this very important issue. However, in Aristotelian logic, since the conformity of mental concepts and images with the outside is considered certain, some questions have occupied the minds of scholars since long age: What are the characteristics of x sense propositions' (which are considered as a part of v certainties' and the most important part of the foundations of syllogism)? What are their types? What is the role of the intellect in such propositions? What is the difference between these propositions and empirical premises? Are these propositions universal or particular and how could we account for this quality of them?

In this article, the writer has tried to provide an answer for each of these questions by relying on the theories of such great logicians as Ibn - Sina, Khwajah Nasir al-Din Tusi, Qutb al - Din Razi, Shirazi, Suhrawardi, etc. He claims that he has been able to find some very delicate and novel points in the works of these scholars in relation to the above questions. A thorough study of such problems reveals that a great number of issues in the methodology and philosophy of science which are now of increasing interest to scholars had also attracted the attention of early thinkers, including Muslim philosophers in certain cases (although not always in a focused and conscious fashon).

From Individual Justice to Social Justice

By : Zahra Khazai

Justice is one of the most familiar and, at the same time, most complex concepts which, in spite of the existing belief in its beauty and necessity, has aroused extensive discussions in the history of thought.

The ambiguity of this concept and the problems associated with its application to the related referents have caused such theoretical and practical limitations at times that man has been forced to either refute all doubts concerning the necessity and beauty of justice through rational justifications, or try to revise his explanation of its nature through expanding its conceptual meaning.

This paper presents the ideas of three prominent philosophers of the nature of justice: Plato, Aristotle and Ravelz. The differences between Greek philosophers and Ravels on the moral bases of justice have aroused a series of other differences whose effects could be witnessed in Ravelz's concept of social justice.

By posing the topic of 'From Individual Justice to Social Justice' the author is trying to prove that the affirmation of the former is necessary for the realization of the latter.

Spiritual Transmigration in Mulla Sadra's Philosophy

By :Abul hasan Ghaffari

The common meaning of transmigration is the after-death transfer of man's soul to another body which might belong to another man, animal, vegetable, or inanimate being. This meaning necessitates the negation of resurrection and otherworldly reivification, is rationally impossible and false, and is absolutely against the Religious Law (Shan'a}.

Mulla Sadra, too, through adducing a number of well - grounded reasons and presenting firm philosophical arguments which are based on his Transcendent Philosophy, as well as through resorting to the related verses and hadiths, has rejected this meaning of transmigration. The transfer of the soul from the worldly to the otherworldly body, which is in conformity to the attributes and virtues the soul has obtained in this world, is not basically considered a referent for impossible transmigration (the transfer of the soul for wretched people is similar to the animal whose characteristics have overcome their souls). Such a transfer, if referred to as transmigration, is in fact due to terminological similarity. The writer has called the transmigration referred to in the above paragraph Spiritual Transmigration to distinguish it from false transmigration. Spiritual Transmigration is in fact the embodiment of deeds referred to in verses and hadiths, which are naturally acceptable to Mulla Sadra. He maintains that the truth of this concept of transmigration can be proved on the basis of corporeal resurrection.

This paper is intended to explain the concept and types of transmigration, to present the reasons for its falsity and impossibility, and finally to prove Spiritual Transmigration, or the embodiment of deeds, through reference to Mulla Sadra's arguments and views in this regard.

Mulla Sadra's Views of Imaginal Perception and the World of Imagination

By: Latimeh Parwin Payriuwani

The problem of perception especially imaginal perception, is one of the most important and, at the same time, most complicated issues in Islamic philosophical psychology.The present paper is devoted to a discussion of the nature of imaginal perception, its various applications, and the world of "Ideas" in Mulla Sadra's view. It also includes the discussion of issues such as the quality of the occurrence of imaginal perception, the organ of imaginal perception, whether this organ is a part of the material and natural brain, or it is a mental and immaterial faculty, and its role after the death of the body. The writer has also elaborated on the imaginal macro-world and its relation to the human imaginal micro-world from Mulla Sadra's point of view. The studies and arguments of this great philosopher concerning the above-mentioned issues are compared with those of his preceding Peripatetic and Illuminationist philosophers. Finally, the related conclusions are presented to the readers.

The First Hundred Years of the development of Islamic Logic

By : Hossein Abbas Hosseinabadi

Although a lot of books have been written on medicine, astronomy. mathematics, Islamic philosophy, etc., not much has been written on the history of the development of research in Islamic logic. As a result, this important part of the history of Islamic thought has remained almost intact. In spite of the fact that a general picture of this field has not been portrayed yet, we have enough information to devise a tentative and general view of this discipline. The present paper is devoted to providing the readers with some information concerning the development of Islamic logic.